Young Business Person of Distinction
Why Janesville? According to Brett Wait, an operations officer for Commercial Bank, it’s a great place to live, work, and play. Brett grew up in Janesville, graduated from Craig High School, and earned a BBA in Finance at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Four years ago, Brett was hired to manage bank operations for Commercial Bank, a three branch independent community bank with an 85 million dollar asset value, and he works out of both the Janesville and Whitewater offices.
In his free time, Brett enjoys working outdoors, attending baseball games, and watching movies. He feels that Janesville has a lot to offer someone his age. He likes the fact that Janesville is centrally located between Madison, Milwaukee and Rockford, and offers numerous options for outdoor recreation, dining, and shopping. Brett believes that the cost of living is relatively low for the services provided, which allows for young business people to thrive in our community. In addition, Brett thinks Janesville is an ideal city for young business people with children. Young families can take advantage of the swimming facilities, the youth sports complex, the city parks and more.
Brett appreciates Janesville’s expanding arts offerings at the Armory and the Janesville Performing Arts Center. He thinks those are great venues for more “formal” productions. Brett would like to see Janesville open a more casual venue that would draw concerts and comedians, which would offer more options for young business people in the area.
Brett is thoroughly entrenched in the business community. He has been an active member of Forward Janesville for nearly four years. He believes that Forward Janesville offers several opportunities for young business people to network with other business people and to take advantage of training and professional development through low cost seminars. Brett feels that he has benefited from attending Forward Janesville’s Business After Five and Nothing but Net networking events. He has also attended several seminars and was a graduate of the Campaign Management Institute. Finally, Brett is a proud member of Forward Janesville’s Small Business Council.
“I grew up in the area and decided to stay!” We’re glad you did, Brett!